Read it.
Use it.
Focused guides for the questions that need more than a quick answer. Each includes a worksheet to prepare your next conversation.
Guides for your next decision.
Build a TN employer evidence brief before drafting the letter
Read & prepare Applicant planningKeep an L-1A new-office record from approval to extension
Read & prepare Applicant planningCompare the E-2 evidence for a startup and a business purchase
Read & prepare U.S. destination planningCanadian RN planning for New York State
Read & prepare U.S. destination planningCanadian RN planning for California
Read & prepareSeven decisions, answered before you prepare.
St. François Xavier TN guide: separate translation from credential evaluation
A translated diploma makes its wording accessible; it does not itself determine the qualification required by a TN profession. Identify the actual credential and institution before commissioning preparation.
Hypothetical example: the applicant holds a degree with a title unfamiliar to the employer. TN requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship and qualifying temporary listed professional work. Review the precise credential rule and permitted alternatives instead of translating the degree into a qualification it does not establish.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Assess the profession and genuine qualification
- Keep evaluation and language tasks distinct
- Explain the actual work and arrangement
St. François Xavier guide: distinguish nationality from the language of a record
A document’s language does not determine the applicant’s citizenship or the U.S. route available. Use the actual personal and employment records rather than inferring eligibility from French or English wording.
Hypothetical example: a Canadian permanent resident has education and employment records in several languages. TN requires eligible Canadian or Mexican citizenship; Canadian permanent residence alone is insufficient. Neither an English translation nor a Canadian-issued employment letter changes the person’s nationality.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Identify the real status shown by the document
- Assess the actual route evidence
- Follow the correct individual process
St. François Xavier E-2 guide: clarify the meaning of financial terms
A contribution, loan or deposit can have legal terms that matter more than the translated label. Preserve the actual agreement and explain its effect on funds, ownership and commitment.
Place the original agreement beside its translation and identify who owns, votes and makes operating decisions. If a term is translated as partnership, record the rights it actually grants instead of assuming the English label gives the investor authority to develop and direct the enterprise. Identify the applicant’s treaty nationality and the owners’ actual nationalities; the enterprise generally needs at least 50% ownership by nationals of the relevant treaty country. A translated corporate name does not establish those facts.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Build a terminology key from the actual rights
- Preserve the financial clauses that a short summary would miss
- Label the document’s time frame accurately
St. François Xavier L guide: explain launch records without relabelling facts
Multilingual corporate records should describe the real organization and role. A translation should not turn registration into operating history or an ordinary job title into a qualifying managerial position.
Prepare a short index explaining what each original document establishes and who issued it. A registration certificate is different from evidence of regular, systematic, continuous provision of goods or services. New-office treatment concerns under one year of U.S. doing business. Identify the genuine qualifying organizations and the employee’s continuous full-time qualifying foreign year within the relevant preceding three years using the actual employment records. Translation should preserve the event described instead of turning a corporate registration date into the beginning of every kind of activity.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Separate words describing incorporation from records of trading
- Translate the duties before selecting a classification label
- Label projections and completed events differently in both languages
St. François Xavier guide: do not let translated titles choose the route
Words such as director, partner and investor can describe different real arrangements. Compare the actual employment and investment facts rather than choosing L-1 or E-2 from the most familiar English title.
Hypothetical example: a source record calls the applicant a partner while the duties concern company employment. L-1 needs qualifying organizations, the relevant foreign employment and managerial, executive or specialized-knowledge work. Explain actual rights and duties without assuming a corporate term establishes every requirement.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the genuine company-transfer role
- Describe the genuine investor arrangement
- Keep the comparison grounded in records
St. François Xavier family guide: explain relationships accurately across records
Names and relationship terms in multilingual records should be preserved and explained accurately. A translation can make a document understandable without determining every derivative eligibility or activity question.
Create a document index for each person showing the name used, issuer, event and date. Place genuine name-change or relationship evidence beside records that appear inconsistent. A broad household term should not be translated into a qualifying spousal relationship without assessment. Do not alter dates or replace a real name simply to make the documents look uniform. The purpose of the explanation is to identify the actual person and legal relationship while preserving what each original record says.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Reconcile identity differences without rewriting the source
- Apply the actual work and study rules
- Keep translated dates tied to the actual status event
- Respect the order of immigrant entry
St. François Xavier guide: preserve the distinction between capital and a government gift
Multilingual funding records may use broad investment terminology. Explain whether the actual proposal is an EB-5 capital investment or an official Gold Card government gift rather than allowing a translated label to merge them.
Hypothetical example: a financial summary uses one term for capital and project expenses. Identify actual lawful source and path, capital at risk and the applicable qualifying-job method, requiring at least ten qualifying full-time jobs per investor. A translation should not turn an expense into qualifying capital or a job forecast into a completed result.
WHAT THIS GUIDE COVERS
- Describe the EB-5 transaction accurately
- Follow the official gift instructions
- Keep process stages explicit
- Use a bilingual payment-purpose key rather than one investment label